Publisher's Synopsis
The subject of mortality is rarely approached head-on. More oblique strategies such as metaphor often provide a route into this difficult subject. Approaches to death can often provide an insight into cultural, social, and political attitudes. Rather than using death as a blunt end-point, the publication turns its attention to mortality and the ways in which death appears (or is obscured) through being in the midst of life. This publication includes essays by Steen Gartside and Clive Parkinson; along with illustrated texts on seven major artists: Ian Breakwell, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Douglas Gordon, Julian Opie, Cornelia Parker, Bob and Roberta Smith, and Sam Taylor-Wood.
